The Workplace Relations Commission found an employee’s dismissal by a security company was unfair and ordered €3,630 compensation, including any notice payments that may have arisen. The decision was dated 8 May 2017. The award was reduced by 50% because of the employee’s actions.
The employee admitted deleting company data after being told his role was at risk of redundancy. The company said the deletion was gross misconduct and justified dismissal. The adjudicator accepted that a reasonable employer in the security industry could treat the conduct as gross misconduct, but noted the handbook allowed other penalties instead of dismissal.
The deleted data was recovered, with no apparent lasting commercial damage. The adjudicator found that losing redundancy and notice payments worth about €9,000 was a very severe penalty, particularly after the employee had been told redundancy was possible. Reinstatement and re-engagement were not considered appropriate.